With week one over with, it is time to look back and see what we learned and see what the future may hold.
First off, Tom Brady is mortal. On opening night, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New England Patriots 42-27, with Brady throwing 267 yards and zero touchdowns. As for his counterpart, Alex Smith threw for 368 yards and four scores. The Patriots are now 0-1 and have the worst record in the AFC East. They are tied with that record with the New York Jets at the bottom.
Elsewhere, defenses were the stars across the league. The Los Angeles Rams recorded two pick sixes to go along with a safety and two fumble recoveries against the Indianapolis Colts, who started Scott Tolzien as Andrew Luck is out recovery from shoulder surgery.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense/special teams showed up against the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh needed a blocked punt for a score and a blocked field goal to escape Cleveland. T.J. Watt recorded his first interception and two sacks in his NFL debut. That equals the number of interceptions brother J.J. has in his entire career.
The Detroit Lions picked off Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer three times, taking the third one back for six.
The Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles had a very good defensive game with the Redskins recording a pick six and a fumble recovery. The Eagles had four takeaways of their own, one interception and three fumble recoveries, one being scooped up for six.
Bear Bryant once said, “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.” If that was the case, then very few tickets were sold last week.
Maybe the rise in defense was the reason the AFC North looked like the Walking Dead of quarterbacks. Andy Dalton had a total QBR of 0.6, and he threw four picks and lost a fumble. Only throwing 170 yards, Dalton had a rough time finding his big targets of A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert.
Joe Flacco had a rough go with the Bengals as he threw for 121 yards, one score and a pick. Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdowns in Cleveland to go along with 263 yards. However, Roethlisberger was bailed out by Antonio Brown, to salvage a good day. DeShone Kizer was impressive in his debut for the Browns as he threw for 222 yards and two scores, one through the air and one on the ground. He already gives the Browns a fair shot to win a game this year.
The Vikings may be able to give the Packers a run for their money in the NFC North. Sam Bradford had his best game in purple, throwing for 346 yards and three scores on 80 percent pass completion. Stefon Diggs caught seven balls for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Adam Thielen caught nine passes for 157 yards. Delvin Cook broke Adrian Peterson’s debut record of 107 yards, rushing with 127 yards.
The Vikings’ offensive line looked like it could be very good if they play like they did Monday night and stay healthy. The defense didn’t seem as aggressive as they usually do, but with Drew Brees as QB for the Saints, you do need to be a little cautious because he can get the ball to anyone at any given time.
With one week down, each team will look to make changes before next week.